The present invention relates generally to fiber optic cable. More particularly, the present invention relates to a splice-on optical connector for terminating outside plant drop cable or other optical fiber cable.
The ability of high-quality optical fiber to transmit large amounts of information without appreciable signal degradation is well known. As a result, optical fibers have found widespread use in many applications, such as voice and data transmission. Optical fiber is typically supplied and installed as fiber optic cable. The term “fiber optic cable” refers to the combination of the actual optical fiber plus the structure in which it is carried and protected during and after installation. Generally, a fiber optic cable includes the optical fiber, aramid fibers or other strength members, and an outer sheath. One common type of fiber optic cable used as outside plant drop cable is “flat type cable.” Because flat type cable typically has two strength members of aramid fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) located on lateral sides of the optical fiber, it exhibits sufficient stiffness for use as a drop cable.
In this application, current assembly technology uses factory terminated optical connectors. As a result, specific cable lengths are built for various deployments and excess cable is stored on site. While splice on connectors for optical fiber cables exist, they are not available for direct connection to flat drop outside plant cable. A splice-on connector would allow the flat drop outside plant cable to be field installed and the cable cut to the length required.
The present invention recognizes the foregoing considerations, and others, of the prior art.